Mecoa glow head experience?

wha-tah-hey Wed Aug 09, 2017 1:38 pm

I see a dealer on eBay lists Mecoa "Cox" .049/.051 glow heads.
A forum search didn't return any posts about 'em - anyone use them?
I'm wondering how they compare to factory.

chevyiron420 Thu Aug 10, 2017 10:01 pm

I have not used a mecoa cox head, but have used one on another engine. So far it is working well. The heads are probably made by K&B and I suspect any new head for cox engines from anywhere are the same. Just a guess though.

roddie Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:17 pm

Hi Terry, I'm not sure of the head(s) you're considering.. but if they're the type that use a standard glow-plug.. you can expect a drop in rpm's over the OEM style Cox "glow-heads". Your application however; may not be sensitive to this. It depends on the demand you place on your engine.

I've run Cox .049 reed-valve engines (with "Cox" glow-heads..) having oversized-props.. (8 x 3's.. hubs bushed) on my 1/2A C/L biplanes.. for both; a scale-like appearance as well as an authentic engine-sound. The "needling-window" to attain a 2-stroke firing is "thinner".. but can be achieved. The airplane "lumbers-around" the circle; flying in a much-more scale-like manner.. rather than at a screaming/dizzying-pace. This can be very relaxing and enjoyable.. especially when flying a small scale-model.

**Admin** Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:27 pm

I'm assuming he's talking about their reproduction Cox glow heads: http://www.mecoa.com/cox/index.htm

I haven't tried them, but I've known about them for awhile. I see they are stocking a .15 head now, I might go ahead and pick one of those up as I don't think I have a spare .15 head on hand.

wha-tah-hey Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:46 pm

Those are the ones, Jacob, standard glow head style. and I see they are listed as K&B.
I'm not sure what that may mean, as K&B is now just one of Mecoa's many proprietary brands.
I assume they're Far East products these days.
I guess I just need to order some and see how they do.

Surfer_kris Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:48 am

There is a good discussion about them here; http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/1-2-1-8-airplanes-70/7973256-great-glow-plug-run-off.html

In brief, they can be made to work fairly okey, if you rework them in a lathe and seal the threads of the standard plug with silicone (or similar).

That was almost 10years ago and we are still waiting for Mecoa to make the proper adjustments...

Oldenginerod Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:27 am

MECOA's glow plug page states "All our glow plugs are made in U.S.A." with the listing including the Cox replacements, so one can only assume they are also locally produced. I did purchase some MECOA Cox heads a while back and I'm sure I must have used at least one. I don't recall having any performance issues on any engine to which I have installed a new head. Can't say I can pick any visual difference with then when compared to Bernie's replacement- probably come off the same production line.

I had a look at the RCU thread as posted & it worries me that so many people seem to love taking cheap shots at MECOA. If it was a company in my country I'd be doing my best to support them rather than knock them. We've all lost too much manufacturing to cheap 3rd world producers, so all you Americans should be doing your best to keep production of this stuff in your country happening. Every company has its shortfalls, but those shortfalls just get amplified if people start to criticize and take their business elsewhere. The more we all help them to improve their "bottom line" the better their services will become.

Personally, I've bought lots of stuff off MECOA, mainly parts to resurrect junk engines. I've never had any sort of problems with them & my only complaint would be that a lot of stuff they list is out of stock. Well I guess if no-one's buying they're not gonna produce more stuff.

Kim Fri Aug 11, 2017 7:43 am

Agree with Rod. I'm getting an order together to hopefully restore a Atwood .049.

A bit off-topic, but I REALLY like their retro-looking engine test stands, and got them from their Ebay listings, having had a tough time ordering directly from their site. However, those WERE the days when they were moving their inventory to a new building, so maybe it's an easier deal now.

andrew Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:01 am

That old McCoy Redhead looks just the treat. I had a McCoy .19 on a Veco Tom Tom that saw lots of service when I was a boy. The Tom Tom is long gone, but I still have the McCoy. It was noisy, cantankerous and a real booger to start.

Surfer_kris Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:36 am

I have always received my orders promptly from mecoa, and I do not have any issues with them as a company. It is the product itself (i.e. putting regular glow plug on a .049 engine) that I think doesn't work. They are not the only ones doing/offering this, but I think it is very misleading.

I'm pretty sure Cox didn't design and made their dedicated glowheads just for the fun of it. Instead that was one reason for their large success with the small engines.

wha-tah-hey Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:55 am

I too am very appreciative that a U.S. company is offering such a tremendously broad range of products for our hobby, keeping many iconic names alive.
while I wouldn't be keeping Mecoa in business, I'd certainly buy many items if customer service were part of their business plan.
I've placed at least 2 online orders with Mecoa in the past, never heard a word from them even in recognition of those orders and, after several months, i cancelled the orders in despair.
Maybe that's just how he does business but it sure is a far cry from every other vendor I've done business with, regardless of the product type.
Just my experience.

fredvon4 Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:10 pm

I too am in the camp of a patriot who would love to support an American company but can't

Nothing at all to do with the prices, on hand parts, engines, or other bits of kit... The MECOA web site is horrid, cart feature usually does not work, e-mail and phone contact non existent

Two orders went unacknowledged for weeks, no confirmation, no processing, no shipping notices.... got what I needed elsewhere....5 months later package arrives....I check bank....card charged...

Thankfully they were smallish orders

Some one who likes them, will bust my chops for not trying to cxl my order....but I did---- and never got through on the phone, or a note back for my Contact us e-mail

I have done some business with them, but it was much more work on my part than I though reasonable

This attitude is not confined to just MECOA

I do a lot of buying with a lot of current business that are a lot more trouble than I prefer

I love John Brodak and all he dose but still some of the stuff is not to MY standards for quality and some times searching to find something you KNOW they have can be real tedious
I buy a lot from Phil Cartier but do wish he would update his site
Exact same with Randy Smith
Each of these guys have so much more for sale that none of any of us knows exists or how much it costs

Love or hate them, Tower is probably the poster child for how to sell on line mail order
There are Many others
Including E-bay shops like Shuterman or Omni

Even the low rent (web site) presences like Lee machine, MBS, Kitting it together, Texas Timers, Select Hobby, Minnesota Modeler, Aero Hobby, or Stunt Hanger hobby work very well

Cox International Wed Aug 16, 2017 12:37 pm

Oldenginerod wrote:MECOA's glow plug page states "All our glow plugs are made in U.S.A." with the listing including the Cox replacements, so one can only assume they are also locally produced. I did purchase some MECOA Cox heads a while back and I'm sure I must have used at least one. I don't recall having any performance issues on any engine to which I have installed a new head. Can't say I can pick any visual difference with then when compared to Bernie's replacement- probably come off the same production line.

I had a look at the RCU thread as posted & it worries me that so many people seem to love taking cheap shots at MECOA. If it was a company in my country I'd be doing my best to support them rather than knock them. We've all lost too much manufacturing to cheap 3rd world producers, so all you Americans should be doing your best to keep production of this stuff in your country happening. Every company has its shortfalls, but those shortfalls just get amplified if people start to criticize and take their business elsewhere. The more we all help them to improve their "bottom line" the better their services will become.

Personally, I've bought lots of stuff off MECOA, mainly parts to resurrect junk engines. I've never had any sort of problems with them & my only complaint would be that a lot of stuff they list is out of stock. Well I guess if no-one's buying they're not gonna produce more stuff.

Just for clarification ..... our products DO NOT come off the same production line as MECOA (they have their own in-house manufacturing) nor do we in any way wish our name to be associated with that company in any form whatsoever!

Marleysky Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:19 pm

Cox International wrote:
Just for clarification ..... our products DO NOT come off the same production line as MECOA (they have their own in-house manufacturing) nor do we in any way wish our name to be associated with that company in any form whatsoever!

Well, I'm glad to know where you stand on THAT!! cheers

Ok, now go here and get us an answer!!
https://www.coxengineforum.com/t11112-cox-international-s-oem-1299-golden-bee-overhaul-kit#140455

Cox International Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:18 pm

Reply was posted and sorry for the delay. Seems we were not getting any messages from the forum because I "cleaned up" our mail server and accidentally deleted the email address assigned to forum messages Huh...

**Admin** Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:42 pm

Cox International wrote:Reply was posted and sorry for the delay. Seems we were not getting any messages from the forum because I "cleaned up" our mail server and accidentally deleted the email address assigned to forum messages

Go to Profile>Preferences and check to make sure you have "Always notify me of replies" set to "Yes". Then, go to Notifications and make sure that "A new post in a watched topic" is is checked for "by email". You should also double check that the email address you have listed under the Information tab in your profile is correct.

Also, make sure you don't have a filter set in your email client to filter out messages from https://www.coxengineforum.com or that include the words "Cox Engine Forum".

Cox International Sun Aug 20, 2017 5:37 pm

LOL, thanks.

We don't have any filters set up on our mail server and our settings are correct.The issue was that I had "bernie@coxengines.com" deleted as forwarder on our server and I have now reinstated this address.

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